September 13, 2023— Chelsea Marando, owner of Marando Farms, Marando Farms & Ranch, managing partner of Jordan Rivers, LLC and director of BCCO – Broward County Community Outreach, a 501 C3 nonprofit organization, has joined the Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (CDTC) Board of Directors.
“We are so thrilled to have Chelsea join our board,” said CDTC Executive Director Ana Calderon Randazzo, Ph.D. “Chelsea continues to make a positive impact across our community. She has a unique insight into how agricultural skills and experiences can positively impact the developmental pathways beyond traditional therapy, which will be an asset to our children and families.”
As a board member for CDTC, Marando will support the nonprofit’s humanitarian efforts to address food insecurity by promoting its “Food Farm-acy” project, create awareness about CDTC’s mission and be an active participant in the center’s many initiatives.
Marando Farms is a 10-acre ranch in Davie that includes a restaurant, farmers’ market, special event facilities, children’s activities and riding lessons. Marando has brought her agricultural skills to Broward County schools, helping students and others to build community gardens and learn horticultural skills. She has also been a Broward County Master Gardener for Broward County schools for 20 years. As volunteers, Florida Master Gardeners receive their designation from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to help educate the public on how to solve their landscape, water, plant nutrition and pest problems.
Among the schools Marando has worked with are Endeavour Primary Learning Center, Maplewood Elementary, Miramar Elementary and Dillard Elementary. She has also built gardens in the Sistrunk government housing community and implemented the City of Dania Beach PATCH (People’s Access to Community Horticulture) garden program.
Recently, Marando was honored by the American Business Women’s Association with the Woman of the Year Award for Green Business Initiatives.
Marando studied business communications and environmental sciences, earning her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida. She pursued MBA graduate courses at University of Florida and Nova Southeastern University’s Huizenga School of Business.
ABOUT CDTC
Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (CDTC) is a not-for-profit serving special needs patients and their families in Broward County. CDTC is a subsidiary of Broward Health and recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) offering a unique system of care annually for 11,000 infants, children, youth and women with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and developmental delays. For more information, visit ChildrensDiagnostic.org.
